The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for vending tall products in a standard, snack style, glass front merchandiser.
Glass front merchandisers are vending machines designed for the automated selling of many sizes and shapes of snack, candy, and beverage products.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, commercial merchandisers generally incorporate several horizontal trays 10 that are partitioned into columns 11, each of which contains several of the same products offered for sale. Each column 11 is fitted with a motor driven helix 12 that extends from the rear of the tray to a front edge 18. The products to be vended, such as bottles 14, are retained within the helix 12.
During the vending process, the helix 12 rotates to push the product (such as the bottle 14) forward toward the front edge 18 of the product tray 10. When the product reaches the front edge 18 of the tray 10, it is pushed off of the tray 10 by the rotation of the helix 12 and drops freely into a delivery hopper (not shown) at the bottom of the vending machine. The area that the product or bottle 14 falls through is called the vend space 16.
As a rule, the width of the vend space 16 is usually the same (or substantially the same) as the width of the tray 10 holding the products to be vended. Understandably, the vend space 16 extends through most (if not all) of the height of the machine, in front of one or more trays 10 of products. The depth 20 of the vend space 16 is measured from the front edge 18 of the tray to the rear surface of the glass 22 through which customers view the product to be vended. The glass 22 prevents customers from reaching in and taking the product without paying for it.
The depth 20 of the vend space 16 in most machines is in the 6 inch to 8 inch range. In developing the conventional glass-front merchandiser, the depth 20 was established by evaluating the height of typical products that were vended traditionally by such machines. The depth 20 was then set to a value greater that the height of the tallest bottle 14 (or tallest product) vended by the machine.
With the depth 20 of the vend space 16 established in this manner, no matter how the product fell from the tray 10, the product or bottle 14 could not bridge between the tray 10 and the front glass 22, because the depth 20 of the vend space 16 exceeded the height of the product. Thus, no matter how the product tumbled from the tray 10, as long as the product or bottle 14 was pushed off the shelf by the helix 12, it was expected that vending was guaranteed and the customer would get the product selected.
In recent years, however, products have been produced in ever increasing sizes. For example, bottles 14 have become taller. 20 oz. soda bottles are 9xe2x80x3 high. 24 oz. soda bottles are 10xe2x80x3 high. Similarly, the typical size of snack products has also increased.
If a tall product or bottle 14 is sitting vertically on the shelf and is slowly pushed forward by the helix 12, a point will be reached where more than half of the base of the product or bottle 14 passes the front edge 18 of the tray (ee FIG. 2). At this point, the product or bottle 14 will begin to pitch forward and the top of the product or bottle 24 will hit the glass 22 in the door (see FIGS. 3 and 4). If it hits it in exactly the right fashion, it will bridge between the tray 10 and the glass 22 and not vend (see FIG. 4).
The typical vending machine is designed so that, once the helix 12 has rotated a sufficient amount to vend a bottle 14 or other product, the machine retains the customer""s money even if the vend has not occurred (because the product has bridged the vend space 16). An improper vend is doubly frustrating to customers because they not only lose their money, but they can also see the bridged product that they have paid for dangling right in front of them and yet beyond their reach (see FIG. 4).
The only way to reliably vend tall bottles 14 and other oversized products in existing machines is to increase the vend space 16 depth to 10 inches or more. However, this solution is not very attractive because it requires a very costly redesign of the vending machine.
Additionally, the greater the depth 20 of the vend space, the wider the machine must be to accommodate the larger vend space 16. However, if it is made too wide, the vending machine cannot be easily installed in most consumer locations because it cannot pass through a standard-sized door frame.
Instead of increasing the size of the vending machine to accommodate larger products, the machine""s size may be kept the same but the vend space may be increased by shortening the length of the shelves within the vending machine. This solution, however, reduces the amount of product that can be vended by the machine before it must be restocked, which increases the operational cost of the machine.
Accordingly, a need has developed for a glass-front merchandiser that can successfully vend larger products while retaining a sufficiently narrow profile to fit through standard-sized doorways.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vending apparatus that consistently prevents a tall bottle from bridging the vend space and failing to properly vend, especially in a merchandiser having a vend space depth that is less than the height of the bottle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that, while primarily designed for the vending of tall, bottled products, is equally applicable to the vending of non-bottled products such as snack items with a height that exceeds the depth of the vend space.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a modification to a vending machine that allows the vend space to be reduced in depth so that the product selling space within the machine may be maximized.
By controlling the way the bottle (or other tall product) drops from the tray, undesirable bridging can be prevented. To do this, the bottle (or product) should be controlled so that it does not tip or pitch forward during the vending operation. Preferably, the top of the product is retained on the tray until the bottom of the product is pushed completely clear of the tray. At this point, the product drops vertically down through the vend space and does not bridge.
Controlling products so that they drop in this fashion permits the vending of oversized products without having to incur the significant expense of designing a new machine with a larger vend space.
In addition, when the vending of products is controlled in the manner taught by the present invention, a machine with a smaller overall front to back depth may be designed. This permits the construction of a machine that will pass easily through narrow spaces such as doors while including a maximum amount of self space for the largest volume of products.
The present invention accomplishes controlled vending of products by mounting a retaining device on the merchandiser in such a manner that the top of the product being vended hits the retaining device and is prevented from moving or pitching forward during the vending process.
The present invention is a snack style, clear front merchandiser having at least one product column having a front opening leading into a vend space. At least one product mover is adapted to push a product through the front opening and into the vend space. At least one retaining device is mounted to the merchandiser near the front opening and positioned in a manner such that a top of the product being vended hits the retaining device, thereby preventing the top of the product from moving or pitching forward during a vending process. Consequently, the vended product falls freely into the delivery hopper without bridging the vend space.
A single retaining device may be used for several columns in a single tray. Alternatively, individual retaining devices may be used for each column such that the height of the retaining device can be adjusted as required for the type of product being vended in each column of a single tray.
Instead of being mounted to the tray, the retaining device may be rigidly mounted to the merchandiser so that it extends across the tray. Two alternatives are possible here. First, the retaining device may be mounted to a frame within the main body of the merchandiser. Second, the retaining device may be mounted to the door so that it swings out of place when the door is opened during restocking of the machine.
In still another alternative embodiment, the retaining device may be U-shaped. Each end of the U-shaped retaining device may be rotatably mounted to the merchandiser. An axis of rotation of the rotational mounts extends horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the products in the column. The retaining device is designed to rotate forward when the top of the product comes in contact with the retaining device before causing the product to rotate. Consequently, the product is rotated backward by only a small angle such that the product""s free fall is more controlled. After the product has fallen into the vend space, the retaining device then returns to a vertical standby position so that the retaining device does not interfere with the free fall of products from trays above the retaining device.
In still another embodiment, the retaining device may be a U-shaped retaining device that is rotationally mounted to a tray in the merchandiser so that a single retaining device is mounted to extend across one or more columns on the tray.
Still other embodiments are described herein or will become apparent from the drawings and description that follows.